Advent of the Players

The Milky Way Galaxy, Sol System, Sol III, also known as Earth, during what is known as the 22nd century, the world is taken by storm as a long-awaited and anticipated title is released. The first Full Dive Virtual Reality game is released, capable of simulating all the senses of the body and the mind, granting a full sense of immersion to the player.

A similar sight can be seen across the six starting planets of Eternal Universe Online. From seemingly out of nowhere, people suddenly appear. Hundreds turn to thousands, thousands turn to hundreds of thousands, and before long, across the six planets, tens of millions of players have appeared from out of thin air.

Some of these players came prepared, gathering as much information as they could from the official forums and various live streams, having made a plan since before even buying the game. Some players of these players have entered this new world with no additional information beyond the basic descriptions provided to them upon release, having actively avoided the forums and streams, wishing to explore the world for themselves. And some players are completely new to either the genre or video games as a whole, only wanting to see what the hype is about. And some aren't even interested in the game itself but instead look at it as a business opportunity.

Although by a few percentages, the planet Vopal has the highest player count among the six starting planets. The main contributing factor for this is the existence of Astur. Amongst the six Kojuuin family members sent into Eternal Universe Online by their ancestor, Astur is the one who has received the most attention from the players. While between the six of them, Astur is the only faction leader but because she delegates all of her tasks to others, specifically Elizabeth, Astur is the one with the most free time amongst her relatives, thus granting her more time to spend interacting with the players. Additionally, it's well known amongst the players that frequent the forums or the various people who had been streaming the beta that Astur gives out quests with high rewards.

Because of Astur's renown amongst a decent portion of the players, almost all of the players that have determined their location to be anywhere near the Sea of Trees have already begun a mass migration towards the Holy Oulvgar State. This large movement naturally aroused the curiosity of the players not in the know, causing the word to spread that an NPC that gives large rewards lives in a place called the Sea of Trees in a nation known as the Holy Oulvgar State.

On Astur's side of matters regarding the players, she has long been preparing for their arrival. With the development of the City of Aeternum, the System has recognised the place as an area the players can respawn in if they die. And with the addition of the Warband, there are plenty of people who can be classified as Class Instructors, NPCs that can give a Main Class to the players. And with the ever-present quest to gather vagrant talents that Astur had previously given out, there are plenty of people to teach the players a variety of Subclasses. While the relationship between the Holy Oulvgar State and the neighbouring towns of Hadrow and Dawn is shaky at best, trade has been established, allowing for various goods to flow through the city.

Despite Astur's preparations, there is still a multitude of services the city is missing before it can truly become a large player hub. Some of the most important facilities missing are things like an auction house, a bank, and an arena to facilitate PvP or Player versus Player duels. While the former two are important for the economy, the latter is actually the most important to Astur. While it is can prevent the players from fighting in the middle of the city and destroying the nearby buildings, the main reason behind its importance is because it can be used for much more than simple PvP, if the arena is large enough, it can also be used to host E-Sports events. Astur, being someone who enjoyed such spectacles in the past, would naturally place high importance on the construction of a large arena for competitions.

But compared to Astur who knew about the arrival of the players ahead of time, the leaders of the other seven nations of Vopal are startled and panicking. The sudden appearance of millions of people is generally a cause for concern for most leaders, especially on a planet like Vopal which is plagued by a constant and steady stream of natural disasters, rendering a large portion of the planet incapable of sustaining a population for an extended period of time. Most of the nations of Vopal see the players as an opportunity, an opportunity to raise their manpower and subjugate the other nations. However, a few of the leaders have other plans, either taking a wait and see approach or contacting others that might have some idea as to who the players are and where they come from.

Meanwhile, on a planet far from Vopal in a different galaxy, Zrathno Kojuuin is overlooking his giant machine of war in his underground base, completely indifferent to the arrival of the players.

"Hmm… I've reached the pinnacle of what I can accomplish on this planet. The materials of this backwater planet can't keep up with the demands of my mech. I guess it's about time I start working on making a rudimentary hyperdrive. But this mech probably can't stand up to the machines of the interstellar nations… Guess my first stop is gonna be the Princess' place, she should be able to buff up my mech."

As people around the universe scramble to make sense of the mass arrival of the player, deep beneath the surface of Vopal, something is stirring, something long forgotten by its people and the native Gods. But more pressing in the minds of the inhabitants of Vopal is what impact could these new arrivals have on the already high tensions between the seven nations of Vopal and the new rising power in the Sea of Trees.